Celtics go about their business as NBA rumors fly

With two picks in next Thursday night's NBA Draft, the Celtics have looked at more than 40 players. They are also among the teams looking to make a deal for All-Star forward Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

WALTHAM – The rumors concerning possible moves in the NBA fly around on a daily basis from coast to coast.

Kevin Love trade proposals are the hot topic of the week. The next destination for Carmelo Anthony is often discussed. And the speculation about who is going to get drafted where next week is picking up steam.

The Celtics are in the middle of some of those rumors, especially when it comes to Love, who could be traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves before becoming a free agent a year from now.

So how do the Celtics deal with all the talk that is going on in the days leading up to next Thursday night’s NBA Draft?

“Ignore all of it,’’ said director of player personnel Austin Ainge on Thursday afternoon. “It’s all planted on purpose. Anyone who’s willing to talk, even off the record, at this time of year, has an agenda and is trying to accomplish something. We ignore absolutely all of it.’’

Conflicting reports earlier this week had the Celtics both the frontrunners to win the Love sweepstakes and back in the pack in the chase for the All-Star forward.

The latest Love rumor surfaced on Thursday when it was reported that the Golden State Warriors were going to include shooting guard Klay Thompson as part of the package in a bid to make a connection with the Timberwolves.

The Celtics, who have the sixth and 17th picks in the draft, have had more than 40 players in to their training facility for workout sessions.

They would like to get an established player like Love, but for now, the focus is on scouting youngsters right out of college.

“The great thing about working for Danny (Ainge, the president of basketball operations), we don’t talk about everything that is being talked about,’’ said coach Brad Stevens. “We just talk about what is really going on in his eyes and we spend a lot of time talking about the draft, talking about how to best evaluate these guys because these two picks are very important.

“Those guys (in the front office) are more in tune to everything else that is going on in the league. I’m really just focused on our guys and these draft workouts. By the time you run two of these a day, if you’re going to run them right, I spend a lot of time thinking about that.’’

Adding some intrigue to the Celtics’ first slot in the draft is the news on Kansas center Joel Embiid that came out on Thursday.

Considered by some to be the top candidate to be drafted No. 1, Embiid will undergo surgery today for a stress fracture in his right foot.

Page 2 of 2 - The five teams ahead of the Celtics may all elect to pass on the 7-footer, which would leave them with a choice to make.

Embiid did not work out for the Celtics since he was projected to go in the top three along with Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.

“Those are always concerns, especially when it’s a player like that that we won’t be able to have in to evaluate to really get the risks from our medical staff,’’ said Austin Ainge. “There’s a lot of guess work involved. You’re always trying to weigh long term and short term.

“We try to think long term, that if the guy is going to miss a couple of months, that shouldn’t deter us from picking him if he’s going to be the best player long term.

“We had some success with that with Avery (Bradley, who dropped to No. 19 because of an ankle issue) and Sully (Jared Sullinger, who went to No. 21 because of a back ailment) in the draft sliding to us.

“Even Leon Powe slid all the way late. Unfortunately, Leon’s knees gave out eventually, but we got some good years out of him. There can be some good value there. But there’s always risks.’’

Jim Fenton may be reached at jfenton@enterprisenews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JFenton_ent.